Todd at Slim's, San Francisco 6-18-09

Review by Gil Ireland-Ashley (Switch to
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6/19/2009

This was really an excellent performance in front of a “hometown” crowd. For some reason Todd kept characterizing this show as the “San Francisco premiere” of the Arena material, though they (also) played the whole album at the Great American Music Hall last year. That was before the disc had been released, and it showed; this year they had really “played in” the songs and were a tight, cohesive band. Black And White was a pleasant surprise, and Trapped (with Kasim) killed. The setlist is the same as the last tour, with Black & White and Trapped replacing the 2 cover tunes (YAY!!):

Love In Action
Black And White
Black Maria
Open My Eyes
Trapped
I Saw The Light

ARENA: Mad Afraid Mercenary Gun Courage Weakness Strike Pissin’ Today Bardo Mountaintop Panic Manup

Encores: Couldn’t I Just Tell You Just One Victory

With the exception of my wife not coming along the evening played out as if I’d planned it. I arrived after the opening act had started, sold my extra ticket within 2 minutes, met Prairie and then Todd out front, got TR to sign my Arena booklet and put it back in the car before I even entered; timing is everything! Paul Freeman was the opening act and was well received; the part I heard was quite good, good luck to you Paul!

This show was night-and-day better than last year’s performance. At the GAMH they played the entire new album when virtually no one in the audience had heard it before, and the band was still learning it on the road; they also had some travel issues the previous night. The whole thing added up to a ragged offering including a couple of genuine train wrecks, This year they really came across as polished, professional and dare I say well-rehearsed (!!). The crowd sang (an early) Happy Birthday to Todd, and he said “I’m holding on to 60 for as long as I can”. The guy played all the guitar solos and just generally kicked ass (to invoke a hoary rock cliché). Most encouraging to me was how well the Arena material was received. You never know what Todd’s going to do next (who saw the AWATS shows coming) but after last night I can’t wait to see what comes next!


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6/18/2009 - Slim's - San Francisco, CA

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